Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a form of arthritis that causes pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of function in your joints. It can affect any joint but is common in the wrist and fingers. The purpose of the community is to share support and information with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients and their loved ones. Topics in the community include: causes, clinical trials, complications, family issues, living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), prognosis, research, surgery, treatments

Alternative Pain Management for RA

I am looking for an alternative pain management for RA that does not involve opiates. My RA is being managed with methotetrate (spelled wrong for sure), but I still have chronic pain in my wrists. The pain can be described as moderate.

My insurance company will not approve biologicals because of pre-existing condition clauses.

- wrist splints (you can get these at drug stores or places like walmart in the pharmacy section). I like the ones that are specifically made for left and right wrists - i find these more comfy. Wear these at night to keep you from curling/clenching your hands and wrists, and during the day if you're not doing anything else and involves your hands.

- if you type a lot like I do, compression gloves or softer wrist supports may help. use a beanbag type wrist support if you work at a desktop - a long one for the keyboard and small one for mouse.

- Paraffin dips. These can be quite soothing! Try one at a nail salon and if you like it, you can get a home unit fairly inexpensively at pharmacies or Wally World.

Hi there!
I have had RA since age 5. At that time they put me on 5mg of prednisone and I have continued with that for decades. Not the best to be on but it does the trick. I have managed to decrease it to 3.5 mgs before but thought that 1.5 mg wasn't that big a deal.

What I have had a lot of luck with is seeing a naturopath for the past 15 years. What a difference! Mainly it was regular food sensitivity testing-about every 4 months. I would eliminate those foods for a time and then have another test. Over time, I could see a patter. A pattern that seems to be consistent to people with arthritis, including osteo. No cow's milk. wheat, sugar, and citrus (pineapple is NOT citrus as it is alkaline). I used gaot's milk for baking, gluten free wheat substitutes for pancakes, muffins, bread, etc. You have to try different brands-don't let one bad experience or taste put you off. You soon get used to it too. At Starbucks I order soy lattes. There are so many options out there now. Not like 30 years ago.

Now, also try the combination of 500 mg of bromelain and a turmeric root capsule at mealtimes. The turmeric root should be "Theracurmin". Natural factors makes them.The other are tablets by New Roots called Infla-Heal Plus. The main ingredient is Serrapeptase. I would suggest taking a brand of Serrapeptase on it's own, upon waking, and then the Infla-Heal Plus during the day, between meals.

I found that naturopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic and massage have been my friends for years. :))

Oh, and Arthritis does not like alcohol and tobacco. Tobacco is part of the nightshade family. Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes. I love tomatoes and potatoes so I do cheat a lot. What I find is quite often you can eat something and you don't feel that inflamed but the way it affects arthritis is more of a cumulative effect-over days sometimes. So, if I am good 6 days a week and then I have pizza on Saturday it really doesn't affect me.

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